Portable apparatus for the extraction of vapors from gases



- May 15, 1923. 1,455,407

G. G. OBERFELL ET AL PORTABLE APARA'IUS FOR THE EXTRACTION .OF VAPORS FROM GASES Filed Aug. 2', 1920 Snelweg Patented May 15,. 1923. i

'UNiTED s'rAas l raam GEORGE G. OBEREELL, OP TULSA, OKLAHOMA, AND GEORGE A. BURRELL, OE NEW YORK, N. Y., AssIGNoRs To GAsoLINE RECOVERY CORPORATION, A CORPORA- TION F DELAWARE.

PORTABLE APPARATUS EOR THE EXTRAcTIoNois` vAPoRs FROM GAsEs.

.Application led August 2,

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that we, GEORGE G. OBERPELL and GEORGE A. BURRELL, citizens of the United States, residing at Tulsa, inv the county of Tulsa and State of Oklahoma, and at New York, county of New York, and State of New York, respectively, have invented certain new and useful Improve? ments in Portable Apparatus for the Extraction of Vapors from Gases; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full,

' clear, and exact description of the invention,

Asuch as will enable others skilled in the art to Which it appertains to make and use the same.

The processes used in the extraction of gasoline from natural gas depends uponv principles of compression, refrigerationand absorption in liquid absorbing media (see Bureau .of Mines bulletins N'os. 151 and 176 by W. P. Dykema). In the compression yprocess the gas is compressed vto pressuresv ranging vfrom 50 to y300 pounds per square inch,A and then cooled, part of the gasoline being thereby condensed and recovered from the gas. This process is not applicable by present plant practice to gas having a gasoline content much less than 1.5 gals. per Mx cu. ft. of gas, since the percentage c iciency of gasoline extraction is dependent, in present compression plant practice upon the gasoline content of the gas. In the absorption process the gas is brought into intimate contact with a liquid that absorbs the gasoline vaporsfrom the gas. The gasoline is then separated from the absorbin medium by a distillation process. If napht a is used as the absorbing medium this separation is not necessary. The Aabsorption process is applicable to natural gas of either high or low gasoline content, and may be carried out with gas at either high or low pressures, but thek cost ofinstallation and operation of an absorption gasoline plant willbe greater at the lower pressure.

,The amount of gas necessary to make a protable proposition for the extraction of l gasoline is dependent upon the gas pressure and upon the quality of gas available -for treatment. Owing to the high costs of' vgathering lines, equipment, erection and` operation of compression plants, this proe-v ess hasgnot been used as a general practice lthan about 50,000 cu.

1920. serial No. 400,592.

inl treatment of gas'in uantities much less.

t. of gas daily'- or 55 stated in terms of plant roduction-wlth a 'production of much less t an 150 gallons of gasoline daily. It. is true that there. are gasoline plants Operating on as low a quantity of gas as 5,000 cu. ft. daily and producing only 50 gallons of gasoline daily, (H. P. AVVestcott-Handbook oi? Casinghead gas P. 235) but the process has not met with general practice for reasons stated above. For the same reasons the absorption process has'not met with general practice with gas in uantities much less than about 50,000 cu. t. daily or with a production of much less than 150 allons of'gasoline daily. The life of gas we ls and oil`wells as far as supply jof gas is concerned, is also afactor which must be considered in estimating. profits of any proposition for the extraction of gasoline, owing to the cost of movin the location of the Agasoline plant to a new oca'- 75 fact that in both the compression and absorption processes that lnot all of the gaso-v line vapors are removed from the gas. The object of this invention is to effect a more complete removal of the gasoline vapors from the gas and to make possible the protable treatment of gas which has not been heretofore-treated for reasons alreadyI given.'- This invention is thereforeone which pertains to the conservation of one of Aour natural resources. The method Ldepends upon the use of a solid absorbing medium such as charcoalor silica gel,l and is applicable to gas at either high or low pressure 9 and to gas of either high or low gasoliney content. Charcoalmade from cocoanut shells, orother nut shells, peach pits, hard coal, wood, etc., and which is made froml such substances by ,first heating at about 1000o G. for about 12 hours with subsequent cooling and reheating with air steam, carbon dioxide or other suitable oxidizing agent is particularly adapted for this purposeas by these 100.

of manufacture. Any other method of profrom natural gas by this process is a morev st-able anda better product than that pro-- duced by other processes. Altho this invention is intended more especially for treatment of gas existing in small quantities (up to 200,000 cu. ft. daily) with a production of about 400 gallons of gasoline daily the process may also be used on large quantities 'of gas by (1) installing two or more units and (2) by using proportionally larger equipment. The entire equipment of a pla-nt capable of treating a quantity of gas inY excessof 200,000 cu. ft. daily may be so constructed as regards size and Weight that it may be permanently installed on, trucks or skids so that it may be moved from one location to another; (l) in case of depletion of gas supply. (2) for testing gas preliminary to installation of other gasoline plants. An arrangement of apparatus is effected whereby the operation ofthe plant is practically automatic.

The only attention required in operation of the plant is: Switching t-he feed of the gas, the heating medium and the cooling mediumfrom one group of absorbers to another. (2) maintainin the desired temperature Yon the charcoa during the process of distillationq Any type boiler regulator will aid in this operation.

The accompanying drawing shows adiagrammatic view of an apparatusby means of which the process may be practiced. y In this description referenceA is made to the useof charcoal as the solid absorbing medium.

The apparatus consists of a rectangular platform 1 mounted on wheels or skids 2,

vor other suitable means for transporting from place to place. On one end of this platform and covering about one third of the surface'is erected an enclosed or partly enclosed building 3. )Vithn this building 1s installed a combination boiler and superheater '4 of any ordinary orA special design.

' A gas or steam engine 5 and water pump 6 suitable for furnishing power and water forl coolin and boiler purposes is also arranged alongside the boiler.

0n theuninclosed portion of the platform ismounted a plurality of condensers, separati-ors, blenders,V l'and absorbers also of special design constructed `generally in ac cordance Awith the apparatus disclosed iii-5 the application of G. A. Burrell, George o. oberfen and o. L. vorees; filed June V18, 1920, Serial No. 389,954. The number of condensers, separators, and blenders will be determined by the rapidity with which the distillation process is to be carried out. The number of absorbers will be determined by two factors; (1) The amount of gas to be treated and (2) the method by which the cycle of absorptions is to be completed. It is possible to use onl two absorbers alternating in each with tie absorption and distillation, It is possible to use three absorbers following a cycle of absorbing, distilling, and coolin by as sing the denuded gas. through 4the lot c arcoal. It is also possible to have several absorbers and use them successively for absorbing while the distillations are made only at stated periods. Thus we might have eight absorbers capable of absorbing from `three hours gas low each being saturated once each twenty four hours. lVe might/then distill three at atime or all eight during a stated period each day.

In the following detailed description we will describe the system as having two condensers and two absorbers the absorbers to be -used for absorbing and distilling alternately.

Natural gas from gas well or from oil wellsv or gas mixtures from any suitable source of supply which contain gasoline vapors ente-r the system through line 7 and pass to absorber 8 by way of line 9 where it passes either upward or --downwad through the charcoal. Vapors of commercial value are thereby removed from the gas. The absorption of vapors may be carried out with the gas at about atmospheric pressure o1' at pressures above or below atmospheric pressure and at atmospheric temperatures or at temperatures above or below atmospheric temperatures as long as temperatures do not get above 250 C. 'The charcoal which is in granular form is supported in the absorber by means of a screen or perforated plate. A perforated plate or screen of the movable type is also placed over the charcoal. After passing through the absorber 8, the gas denuded of the desired commercial vapors passes through the lines'lO and 11 to the disposal lines. When enough gas has been passed through absorber 8 to saturate coal tends to heat it and drive out again the vapors extracted from the These vapors together With the steam and any1-condensed Water is passed through the lines 1 7 and 18 vinto'the condenser 19 Where most of the steam and some of the commercial vapors are condensed. The condensed vapors from this condenser pass into" the blender 2l through the pipe 20. The Wate-r and condensed commercial vapors are separated in this blender by gravity and the Water passes to the drain by the pipe 22 While the condensedcommercial vapors pass through the line 23 to'storage.-A

Vapors not condensed in condenser .19 pass by 24: into condenser 25 Where colder Water is kept around the condenser coils. The condensed commercial vapors and Water from condenser 25 pass into blender 26` by pipe 27 Where they are separated by gravity. The Water passes to the drain by pipes 28 and 22 While the condensed vapors pass by lineJ 23 to storage.

When the distillation has been carried to a point Where the majority of the absorbed vapors has been driven out the steam is thenturnedinto another absorber.

Cooling medium for the operation o-f the system is supplied by pump 6 and carried to the condenser 25 by line 29. After passing around the coils in 25 it passes into condenser 19 by line 30 Where it tends to reduce the temperature of the coils in 19. From 19 it passes throu h 81 either to the drain 32 or to the boiler y Way of pipe 33. Some of the advantages of this portable system as We have outlined it are:

1.l It is readily transported from Iplace to place. as the gas supply diminishes or in- Greases.

2. It is a system adaptable to treatment of very small volumes of gas.

3. It can be installed at relatively low cost figures.

4. The overhead costs are relatively low.

5. It is capablei'of being operated by one man. s

6. It can beutilized in saving the gasoline l -from small groups of isolated Wells wherethe value of the gas would not defray theex'- ,penses of piping to larger' supplies of gas.

What Wefclaim and desire to secure.' by Letters Patent is: l

1. A. portable apparatus for the extraction of vapors in commercial quantities from gases comprising a portable platform', an absorber unit permanently mounted on said platform containing activated charcoal and provided With means for admitting vapor containing gases to the same, and an outlet for the denuded gas, a condenser mounted on the platform and communicating with said unit for receiving vapors distilled from. the same, and a boiler permanently mounted on the-'platform for furnishing steam to said absorber unit. 2. A portable apparatus for extracting vapors in commercial quantities from gases' the boiler and absorber units for conducting steam from the boiler to'said absorber units, a motor driven Water pump fxedly mounted on the platform, a'pipe placing said pump in communication with one condenser unit;

and a pipe connecting the other condenserunit to the boiler. In testimony whereof We affix our signatures.

GEORGE G. OBERFELL. GEORGE A. BURRELL. 

